As a heat dome hits Texas, some cities are hotter than the Sahara

Parts of Texas on Thursday will feel hotter than the Sahara Desert, as a heat dome over the region sends temperatures skyrocketing into the triple digits.

Parts of Texas on Thursday will feel hotter than the Sahara Desert, as a heat dome over the region sends temperatures skyrocketing into the triple digits.

Across central and southern Texas, heat index values — a measure of what conditions feel like when air temperatures and humidity are combined — will range from 105 degrees to 108 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday. These “feel like” temperatures are hotter than parts of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa, where several Moroccan cities were forecast to hit the high 80s and low 90s F.

Several cities in Texas, including Houston, San Antonio and Austin, could set new daily temperature records Thursday. And there will be little relief from the heat dome in the coming days.

Muggy and “possibly even downright oppressive” conditions are expected to linger through the weekend and into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Texans are no stranger to high heat and humidity, but conditions this week are more common in the heart of summer than in May.